I was an Island
by Keeper.0f.The.Keys
Summary: Or alternatively; Five times Natsu Dragneel stole Lucy Heartfilia's heart and the one time he broke it. [Nalu]


Lucy Heartfilia met the love of her life at 17. He was rambunctious, rebellious and everything she never knew she needed. Natsu Dragneel was an essential. She just didn't know it yet.

The first time Natsu Dragneel had stolen a piece of her heart was when she jumped from the tower during the Phantom Lord incident. Lucy remembered the sensation vividly. Grasping desperately at straws she couldn't reach for a way to escape. Looking hopelessly for a way around Jose's scowling lips. She remembered hearing his voice, a mere whisper carried through the wind but that was good enough for her.

Then she was falling.

Lucy felt her heart drop to her stomach as she plummeted, her hair was whipping at her face so hard it hurt. Her perception of time became distorted, everything slowed down until it was just her and the sky, the sky that seemed to swallow her whole. Everything seemed to blur together into an endless cloud of blue as she surrendered herself to the sky above. Then she screamed.

"Natsu!"

Lucy prepared herself for the pain, for the hurt that would rattle throughout her bones as she collided with the dirt bellow. All Lucy felt was an ache as Natsu slammed his body into her's. She was safe, but her mind was still on high alert. Her gut twisted as Natsu turned them around to protect her from the impact of smashing into a nearby wall.

As the two of them lay on top of each other panting into the dust, Lucy couldn't help but feel taking the strange pink-haired mans hand at the port of Hargeon was the best decision she ever made.

The second time was a lot less dramatic than the first. Lucy had always been a hopeless romantic, she got it from her mother. The day of the hanami party Lucy had fallen ill, something unusual for her but irritating none the less.

When Natsu had shown up at her doorstep that morning Lucy couldn't help hoping that he would stay to take care of her, just like in the romantic novels she and Levy gushed over. He didn't of course. Lucy wasn't really surprised. She was however, disappointed.

So she went to bed with her heart feeling like lead and slept off her sickness, just as Wendy advised.

Lucy was awoken to a commotion on the streets. She wasn't exactly sure what she had been expecting when she opened her window to glance down at the usually peaceful street but it definitely was not the gigantic tree with multi-coloured leaves twinkling to the beat of her heart. Lucy felt her chest swell and her eyes water as she realised just who had sent this gift down the river.

Most boys would've just sent flowers.

Lucy leaned into her arms, letting the happiness sink into her bones. She wanted to stay in this moment, to remember it when she was old and grey. She wanted to remember what loving this strongly felt like.

The third time it happened was when Lucy finally accepted it. The infinity clocks explosion had sent her flying, she remembered Warren telling her she could've ended up anywhere, yet despite all odds she landed in Natsu's arms.

The stars were shooting over their heads and their comrades where screaming out to them, tears of relief falling freely down their cheeks as they ran over to the pair.

When Natsu smiled up at her from the rocks and dust, face painted with dirt and scratches, dripping in sweat from their near death experience Lucy felt her heart stop in her chest.

Love was not something Lucy took lightly. She saw it shape and ruin her father. Love had the power to make you feel like you were at the top of the world, but it could also make you feel like you've had your feet pulled out from under you with a single word. Lucy Heartfilia was scared of falling in love and in that moment when she smiled back at the grinning Dragneel, she had never felt more terrified.

Laying in the middle of a stadium with burned legs and bloodied arms was not how Lucy wanted to spend her birthday. She was shaking with anger and humiliation, tears running down her checks like a faucet.

The crowds comments were ringing in her ears as sobs racked her body, echoing in her ribcage. She barley heard him walk up to her, she expected an angry shout, a huff of disappointment. All she was met with was silence.

When Lucy removed her hand from her eyes she saw him smiling down at her gently. His hushed words of encouragement were for her ears only as she'd never heard him talk so quietly in his life.

When he held out his hand to her just like the day he did in Hargeon she knew she was a goner. Natsu Dragneel had a hold on her heart she could not break even if she wanted to.

But when he was grinning down at her like she was his everything, she found she didn't really mind.

Lucy felt herself tremble as she stared at the back of her best friend. The war was over, they had closed the gate.

Natsu was staring straight ahead lost in his own thought. Lucy could only imagine how he was feeling right now. He had fought so hard.

He fought for her.

The image of her future self's body hitting the ground and the resounding thud the disturbed the silent hallway made its way into her mind.

Lucy felt sick.

The diary in her hand began to sparkle and Lucy watched it disappear, hot tears staining her cheeks. She ran and collided with Natsu's body, wrapping her arms around his trembling waist. He started at the contact, so deep in thought he hadn't heard her running over. His eyes drifted skyward as shaky whispers of "thank you" melted into the fabric of his vest.

She fell apart so he wouldn't have to.

Lucy had read that letter more than she cared to admit. Staring at the poorly scrawled words, praying they would somehow change, that Natsu would barge through her door claiming that he was just prancing her and she was an idiot for falling for it.

But he never did.

Lucy would shuffle around her cluttered apartment, movements sluggish, a crumpled piece of paper clenched in her fist as if she couldn't bear to part from it.

His words had been tattooed to the front of her brain. He had trapped her in an eternal winter, devoid of life and rigid with frost. Her world was cold and her limbs were empty of the life they once had. He'd vanished, nothing but a memory.

Natsu had left and he'd taken every bit of her heart with him.


End file.
